15 May
2019 at 12:00am
A three
mile stretch of chalk cliffs on the Yorkshire coast is one of the most valuable
habitats for a variety of seabirds.
But there
is one bird above all that people come to see: the puffin.
Bempton
Cliffs near Bridlington is one of just 30 known breeding sites for this bird
which is classed as vulnerable to extinction.
The
cliffs are some of the most popular for birdwatching in the whole of Britain
and in the summer months, up to 1,000 people will flock to the site every
single day.
Conservationists
now want those eyes to join the “puffarazzi” and photograph puffins with fish
in their bills to help find out how their diet is changing as a result of
global warming.
They want
to know what the seabirds are feeding their young.
The
citizen science scheme was first run by the RSPB in
2017, with 602 people sending in 1,402 photos of the seabirds from almost 40
colonies.
The
pictures have helped scientists identify areas where puffins are struggling to
find the large nutritious fish which they need to feed their chicks, or
pufflings, the RSPB said.
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